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Films that have facially-scarred villains will no longer receive funding from the British Film Institute, the organisation has announced, as part of a campaign to remove the stigma around disfigurement.

From Darth Vader to Scar in The Lion King, film-makers have long made a link between physical disfigurement and evil.

As the first organisation to support the project, the BFI is leading the effort to remove the stigma from facial disfigurement by casting actors who do not fit the traditional Hollywood aesthetic.

Ben Roberts, the BFI’s deputy CEO, said: “Film is a catalyst for change and that is why we are committing to not having negative representations depicted through scars or facial difference in the films we fund,” says Ben Roberts, the BFI’s deputy CEO.

“This campaign speaks directly to the criteria in the BFI diversity standards, which call for meaningful representations on screen. We fully support Changing Faces’s #IAmNotYourVillain campaign, and urge the rest of the film industry to do the same.”

In line with this commitment, the BFI film fund has given financial backing to a forthcoming drama called 'Dirty God', featuring a woman in South London rebuilding her life after an acid attack.

It is especially notable for the casting of newcomer Vicky Knight – a burns survivor herself – in the leading role.

The BFI is leading the effort to remove the stigma from facial disfigurement which can often leave children with negative attitudes towards disabilityCredit:
Film Stills

The BFI’s decision is also part of a recently announced diversity commitment, which includes a 7% target for filmmakers with a disability.

Changing Faces, who provide advice and support for people with a visible difference, has welcomed the news as a positive step forward.

“The film industry has such power to influence the public with its representation of diversity, and yet films use scars and looking different as a shorthand for villainy far too often,” says Becky Hewitt, Changing Faces’s chief executive.

“It’s particularly worrying,” “to see that children don’t tend to make this association until they are exposed to films that influence their attitudes towards disfigurement in a profoundly negative way,” Hewitt adds.